


Late June

by ypsese



Series: Change of Scenery [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Affection, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling & Snuggling, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Flustered & Sleepy Percy, Hair Brushing, Nightmares, Post Giant War, Reader adores Percy, Reader comforts Percy, Reader will do anything for Percy, Sleepy Kisses, Tartarus nightmares, Underwater kisses, percy needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-22 17:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13769103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ypsese/pseuds/ypsese
Summary: Tartarus left scars that were almost impossible to heal. But (Y:N) was a girl who could achieve and defeat the impossible.





	Late June

♤

He woke up screaming. The kind of screaming that hit you deep in the pores, through your bones and straight into your heart.

The once nice smell of english tea and sweet herbs was now a reflex of panic. Every time I inhaled that calming concoction Clovis has made, it reminded me of our situation.  

At the cry of dismay, I was leaping from the sticky bedsheets in a matter of moments, tearing away at the doona and turning to check on Percy.

He was writhing against the blankets, his hair was mattered with sweat, caking his body like a second skin. His face was contorted in fear and pain, body shuddering and legs kicking violently.

I put one hand to his bare chest, feeling his heart rattle agaisnt my touch. My other hand reached for his face and I cupped his cheek.

“Percy,” I whispered shaking his shoulder. “Perce, you’re okay,” I promised. The teenage boy leaped from his nightmare, spluttering and panting. His green eyes were wild with panic, I'd never seen him so shaken. 

“Hey,” I hushed as he burst into sobs, lunging into my chest and curling himself around me. “You’re safe, no ones going to hurt you. You’re with me.” I reassured, kissing his palm softly. 

His chest shuddered as I wrapped my arms around his neck and cradled his head to my chest, running my hands through his hair.

“Y-You…I-I _a-a-a-ah_.” He tried to speak but his breaths were to laboured to form a proper sentence. 

“Shhh.” I whispered, spreading butterfly kisses on his hand and trailing them up his arm and to the joint on his shoulder.  I pressed a soft and loving kiss to his shoulder, trying desperately to calm him down. 

“I l-love you.” He shuddered breathlessly, his arms coming around my waist and his head burying into my neck. 

“I love you to.” I promised as Percy sucked in a breathe and sniffled. 

**You stun me with your smile and all you bring**

This had been happening for months now, ever since the Giant War had come to and end, every couple nights he would make up screaming until he was hoarse.

He refused to tell me exactly what happened under some stupid notion that I was too pure. He didn’t want to ‘taint’ me with his nightmares of Tartarus.

I told him that was bullshit, and if he didn’t want to talk to me about his nightmares to me —even though it pained me to say this— I asked him to go to Annabeth about them. Since they were the ones that fell into the pits of hell. 

He refused to talk to anyone about them, he was too considerate and kind-hearted to want to worry anyone. Hejust wanted to keep it to himself and believe the lie that they would, ‘go away eventually’. 

But I was worrying, every night my lover would wake up spluttering in pure agony. And there was nothing I could do because he wouldn’t let me in.

It stung, the rejection of being pushed away. But my feelings didn’t matter in the circumstances. 

This was Percy’s health, Percy’s life, and it was on the line.

“I hate seeing you like this.” I whispered softly, running my hands up and down his back soothingly, pressing kisses to into his hair. 

“I’m s-sorry.” He whispered, sniffling again. I didn’t respond, busying myself with planting feather-light kisses to his ears 

I just allowed him to fall into my lap, his legs on either side of me, his arms wrapped around my hips and his head on my shoulder. It seemed kinda unorthodox, but then again, so was out relationship.

Son of Poseidon — Daughter of Hecate.

“Perce, I’m worried.” I admitted, running my hands through his tussled sweaty hair. The son of Poseidon blinked at me with watery green eyes. 

“You’re not getting any sleep, you’re **always** exhausted. You wake up screaming, **every** night.” A guilty expression wiped across his face. 

“It’s killing me that you're like this.”I pressed a pained kiss to his forehead, expressing my thoughts through a gentle act. 

“I…” Percy tried to speak but his voice was too weak and it came out as a small little whimper. My heart almost shattered.

“Just tell me one thing,” I whispered. “One little thing and I’ll never ask again.” Percy looked into my eyes with an expression I couldn’t read. I wondered what I looked to him, tired? Worried? Scared? 

Maybe all at once. 

**You come around and make me wanna sing**

“…It’s you.” He breathed out softly into my neck, his grip on my waist tighten significantly. “Every single time, it’s _you_.” 

My breath tightened in my chest and my hands froze from stroking his back. Something inside me withered and died as his expressed unclouded and I saw pure, unrefined fear. 

“At first,” Percy sniffled, “It’s just you and I in Tartarus, there’s fire and the air is thick and poisoned.” He tries to keep it as vague as possibly.

“Then the Arai come and we fight them, there’s more fire, and lava, and blood, Gods Of Olympus there was so much blood.” He shuddered, and I closed my eyes, my brain finally coming to a dreaded realisation. 

“In your hair, your mouth, your nose. They scratched out your eyes, broke your bones, flayed your skin and I just stand there until you disappear, screaming my name.” 

“Oh…” My voice broke with pain. “Perce.” I pulled tighter into my chest, wrapping my arms around his torso and sitting my chin on his head.

“You are never, **ever** going back there okay? You’re safe, right here.” I promised, emphasising my words by squeezing him tighter. 

**You make me wanna sing my fears away**

Percy sniffled into my neck again and we stay quiet for a moment, just breathing, enjoying the feeling of being in each others arms. 

After a couple minutes, my tiredness and fatigue came back in a torrent wave. I blinked back sleepless tears and stretched my mouth open in a silent yawn. 

“Hey,” I said softly, unwrapping his hands from around my waist and sitting up. “Let’s go somewhere okay?Get out of the cabins.” 

Percy blinked at me, he looked so cute with red, puffy eyes and a confused expression. But at the same time, incredibly tired. My heart strings were played like a violin.

“You wanna go somewhere…now?” He asked quietly, I nodded, a plan shaping its way into my mind. I stood up from the bed, wearing a baggy grey tee-shirt and some pyjama shorts. 

I reached my hand out and pulled Percy to his feet. He looked adorable in his own pyjama pants and, his hair looked like a birds nest.

“C’mon, let’s go to our special place.” I whispered, kissing his cheek in persuasion. 

**Here among the clouds**

I dragged him through the cabin door —passing a sleeping Tyson on the way— and straight through all the cabins. We went past the dining pavilion and all the way down to the surf. 

Percy’s perplexed expression changed once he saw past the sand dunes and into the Long Island Sound. The water was a mysterious blue tonight, hiding the colourful fish and coral underneath its body. 

“What are you…?” Percy trailed off as I tugged on his hand, forcing him through sand and into the bay. 

“I’ve been practicing something.” I said softly as I splayed my hand out to the water. At first nothing happened, and my heart dropped. Embarrassment crawling into my cheeks. 

But then the water lurched in my direction and a small little pathway levelled out on each side of the water. I looked back towards Percy who had a small smile on his face.

“C’mon.” I said, and he nodded his head happily and we walked into the waters depths, completely dry and surrounded by transparent blue. 

Soon the sand disappeared from under our feet and a darkness loomed over us. But the moon speared through the shade of night and illuminated the coral and constant swarms of fish. 

**We are safe and sound**

A air bubble morphed around us and swept me off my feet, we landed awkwardly, a mirthful expression glittering in my eyes as Percy did a full three sixty spin and landed beside me. 

He was quiet for a moment, settling into a comfortable position and staring into the colourful fluorescent mirage of coral and underwater life.

“How did you mange that this?” He said softly. I shrugged noncommittally and pulled him close to my chest, his eyes were going slack but still red with tears. 

“Practice…” I said under my breath, running my hands through his hair, allowing him to rest his head on my chest, hearing my heartbeat. I hoped it was soothing enough. 

“I kept thinking about your tired eyes,” I whispered, not wanting my voice to irritate his exhausted form “…and maybe being in the water could help you, so I…” 

I trailed off as he squeezed my hip, I smiled sadly into his unruly hair, and my hand that wasn’t running through it, came to weave into his own hand. 

“Thank you…” He whispered, his voice getting slurred with every passing moment. I nodded my head at his appreciation. 

“You’re my everything, Seaweed Brain.” I mumbled, I felt him smile agaisnt my neck at the term of endearment and he held me closer.

**You lift me up**

“Sleep for me, Perce." I mumbled agaisnt his ear. "I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.” His face scrunched up acutely. 

“What about you?” Was his response, in the middle of a cute little yawn.I raised an eyebrow at him and swallowed down a chuckle.

“You're impossible.” I vocalised. “Tonights about you.”

“But (Y:N)—”

“—Shhhh.” I cut him off, kissing his hairline and lying my head atop of his own. I guess he must of realised I wasn’t going to give in to his demands so he sighed and snuggled closer into my neck.

“You’re too _stubbin'_.” He mumbled against my neck, I grinned at him and turned my attention from his sleepy and flustered face to the moon.

“Love you.” He mumbled, his voice disappearing into a state of pure fatigue. I stretched my back the in slightest and rested it against the bubbles surface. 

“Love you to Percy,” I let out a small breath. “ _Always_.” 

**You lift me up**

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't really want to make this a song-fic because I find that a majority of those types of stories are just someone copy and pasting the lyrics and writing around the idea for extra word-counts.
> 
> But there is a minority of beautifully written and feels-hitting song-fics. So I tried to do justice to those writers. My favourite Artist, Mree is the inspiration for this story. Her music just connects with me I guess, it's on the same wavelength. The song is called Lift Me Up. (Second verse and chorus.)
> 
> So edgy. 
> 
>  
> 
> Squeeeeeee! Percy is so cute in this one shot. I can just imagine him snuggling up agaisnt s/o. I hope you enjoyed this, because my heart can't handle anymore fluff. I must leave.
> 
> *Jumps out window*


End file.
